Judge rejects insanity defense in Mcar wash murder inn.

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, October 26, 2011

HASTINGS, Minn. — A judge has rejected a Burnsville man’s mental illness defense in a fatal shooting at a Rosemount car wash.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jonas Grice (grys) previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Grice claimed he was mentally ill when he shot and killed 22-year-old Anthony Hartman of Apple Valley last year. Hartman had intervened in a dispute between a friend and the gunman at the car wash.

On Wednesday, Dakota County District Judge Karen Asphaug rejected Grice’s mental illness defense after a recent court trial on the issue.

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Prosecutors say the decision results in Grice’s conviction for the crime.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 4. Grice faces a potential maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.